Goodbye Summer Giveaway

hello dearhearts! it's that time again, at long last, i'm finally running another little giveaway here on the blog! (pause for cheering and applause...)

now i know what you're all thinking, "Jade, shut up and tell us WHAT WE CAN WIN!!!"

well you don't need to shout! just give me a chance and i'll tell you!

here it is then, here's the bundle of lovely goodies i picked up during my recent trip to Ireland + a few extra bits n'bobs

pretty tasty right! you bet it is, i'll actually be v jealous of whoever wins this stack of cuteness! maybe i should keep it all for myself!!! (*evil laugh*). nah, i wouldn't do that...

allow me to break it down for you then, first up we have a trés adorable apple watch necklace on a peachy chain. yes, of course the watch really works, however it hasn't been started yet to make sure it's battery will last for the winner!

there's also a v sweet set of post earrings, perfect for the imminent Autumn + a cute summery anklet (just because it's the end of Summer doesn't mean you can't still wear a little bit of it around your ankle!) and a v pretty Hummingbird ring

there's a funky handmade 'ugly doll' type keyring charm, because you can never have too many quirky keyrings, FACT!

and a cute star bow headband + a pretty purple hair-bow clip

then there's the frankly AMAZING owl shaped strawberry lipbalm... yes, it really is owl shaped!!! really!

see!!!

 what else?! well there are some fun tutti cuti kawaii stickers + a set of fun emoticon page tabs (ideal for marking out early Christmas Gifts + for dropping major hints about gifts you would like to receive)

AND a cute Fluff luggage tag (perfect for jazzing up your suitcase) + a sweet Hello Kitty pencil (because lets face it, who doesn't like a bit of Hello Kitty!)

there's also some of my own merch stuff, two sugary sweet postcards + a cupcake pocket mirror and a cupcake badge

+ a Sugar Skull circle sticker to stick on your fridge or your laptop or your face or whatever...

and that's the prize bundle! some very luuuurvely goodies there, i'm sure you'll agree. apologies for the dire quality of the pictures but then you all know how much my camera sucks!!!

right so, enough of the rambling times, let's get to to important part, how YOU can try and get your hands on the prizes!

oh and as always, the giveaway is open to entries from anywhere in the world, seriously, don't fret about postage or anything, that's my concern not yours, if you want to try and win some stuff then go ahead and enter, doesn't matter where you live!

right then, there are lots of ways you can enter + the more entries you get = more chances of winning (yay!)

you just have to click the options on the giveaway form at the end of this post.

firstly, if you don't already follow this blog (and if you don't then why NOT?! explain yourself...) go ahead and click Follow, that's two entries already!

leave me a comment, that's one entry

then you can 'Like' my facebook page, that's another two entries

you can Follow me on twitter = two more entries

and tweet about the giveaway = another one

(if you already Like/Follow me etc, just fill in the form accordingly, but beware... if you DON'T really follow/like my pages, i can check and i will DEDUCT entries if you're fibbing!) 

the giveaway will run until midnight (UK time) on Friday 14th September and i'll email the winner over the weekend.

that's it, that's all you need to know, so what are you waiting for!!! GET THOSE ENTRIES IN!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


+ until next time, that's all folks... xX

Elephants and Everything Else ★

greetings dear readers from a rather chilly and wintery Isle of Man.

yesterday i spent the afternoon with my friend Jenny and i remembered that i completely forgot to show you all what i made her for her 20th Birthday last week!

i couldn't think of anything to get Jenny but i know she really likes elephants so i had a go at stitching up a little plushie elephant for her

so i'd like you all to meet Ethel the Elephant! isn't she a cutie! it was so much fun to make her, it's been ages since i've made any plushies and i think this is one of the biggest things i've ever made (she's about 30x18cm)

Jenny seemed to like her anyway, which is what counts i guess!

* * *

so yesterday was my last day at college before half-term and in the afternoon Jenny came to collect me and we whizzed off to Tynwald for a little mooch around the shops and the gallery

as a sort of end of term treat i got this little cutie to add to my mini Momiji collection

she's from the 2010 'book lovers' collection by illustrator Luli Bunny, and i just couldn't resist!

she fits in perfectly with the momiji girls i have already

* * *

it seems that yesterday was a day of treats because when i got home i found a lovely little parcel waiting for me from the Isle of Man Soap Company

firstly... i couldn't get over how adorable the packaging was! so sooo cute! i'd ordered a cherry lipbalm and an apple martini soap and they arrived all wrapped up in pretty tissue paper inside a funky metallic green jiffy mailer

i haven't opened the soap yet but i can't stop using the cherry lipbalm! it's so moisturizing i just love it

the Isle of Man Soap Company is a fabulous local business run by the equally as fabulous Irene, she hand-makes the most glorious goodies using the finest ingredients and her own individual fragrance collections unique to the IOM Soap Co

some of the goodies available include: soaps, candles, soft soap body polish, bubble dust, bath salts, cold process soap, lipbalms, bath bon-bons 

and my personal favourites... the cupcake bathbombs!

they truly do look good enough to eat, but are a treat for your skin, not for your tastebuds!

for more info + to check out the full ranges on offer, you can check out the website and online shop right here - Isle of Man Soap Company

* * *

yesterday i also had to mail out a postcard ordered from my Etsy shop. i realised that i don't really explain my packaging very well and that unless you've ordered something from me in the past you don't really know what to expect

very simply, i post all postcards out in special 'do not bend' print mailers + every postcard comes in a protective cello sleeve along with a complimentary 'JADE' postcard and a Sugar Skull sticker, all bundled in a sweetie bag before being popped in the envelope and posted off to wherever

anyway, just thought i'd share that little snippet of info with you all. you can see all of my postcard designs available in my shop here - Jade's Etsy Shop

* * *

nothing more to report on for now, i've a week off from college full of research and drawing ahead of me 

you still have just over 4 days left to enter the 'Blog Birthday Giveaway'

in case you missed the last post, i'm giving away a stack of super duper cute goodies to celebrate my blogs 3rd Birthday/Anniversay...... Blogiversary this month!

to find out how YOU can enter to win some prizes head on over to the Giveaway post here - Blog Birthday Giveaway 2012

i'm picking 3 winners this year as well so you never know... you might just be one of them!!!

so get entering! and until next time, that's all folks...  

◕‿◕ ★ xX

Creative Café #25 ★

so i know i promised to post the latest Creative Café feature over the weekend... but i got distracted and i was busy so i'm posting it today instead!

what better way to start off the week than with a lovely colourful new Creative Café post, it's also the first one of 2012 which makes it extra awesome i think!

i can't really be bothered reminding you all of the 'creative café drill'

however it's the first CC post of the year so i suppose i'd better do a quick recap!

basically, this post will contain lots of nice images for you to scroll through at your leisure so i recommend you get a nice drink and a snack to enjoy while you scroll! simple really...

also, on a side note, if you think you know of an artist/designer/photographer/maker/creative that deserves a feature on here, then email me via info@jadeboylan.com and i'll see if we can squeeze them onto the blog!

anyway, without any further ado or mindless rambling from me, todays post is all about the very funky and lovely Stephanie Concepcion

Stephanie is a very awesome aspiring illustrator/artist/character designer/vampire slayer living in New York City. 

i only discovered her work last month, (a week before Christmas to be precise) when i spotted some of her pieces floating around tumblr!

 i had a good look through her portfolio and just loved all of her work so it seemed only right that i feature her lovely artwork on here so that all of you could enjoy it too!

i really REALLY love the colours she uses in her work and the way she draws her characters, her backgrounds are particularly fabulous as well! she pours so much detail into her work to create these really beautiful, vibrant scenes

see what i mean! her characters and colour schemes are so fresh and fun, everything from the expressions on the characters faces to the little details on their clothes it just fab!

i really like the way she draws girls as well, they all have their own unique senses of style and individual personalities 

right i think i've rambled for long enough, i'll leave you to scroll through some more of Stephanie's work in your own sweet time!  enjoy...

super duper stuff for sure...

ok, lovely links time now!

to check out more of Stephanie's work, you can visit her website here - Stephanie Concepcion Illustrations

you can also follow her on Twitter - @Stephynee

and on Tumblr as well - Stephanie

+ she has a groovy blog right here - Stephanie Concepcion

all that's left now is for me to say a big ol' THANK YOU to Stephanie for saying yes and letting me run the feature, i hope you all enjoyed her work as much as i do! thanks again Stephanie :) x

All images featured in this post belong to Stephanie Concepcion © do not claim, use, distribute, reproduce or trace ANY of her work without her express written consent. All Rights Reserved.

* * *

in other news, i have my college assessment this week so if you don't hear from me over the next few days... that's why!

the good news is that the assessment SHOULD be on Wednesday afternoon so after that i will be able to post stuff again! yaaaay

so until then, that's all folks... 

◕‿◕ ★ xX